Thursday, August 09, 2012

Mum took me to the pet store to buy Mean Juice some litter. I asked mum for a new piggie like I always do,

This one is on sale mum!!! $5 off!!

Mum said something about Noah's Ark being full, not sure what she meant by that, but could tell I ain't getting no piggie....

So I moved on, to mouse hunting. Mice come in with shipments and they hide everywhere in the store. In fact, I found one that was hiding in a pile of dog toys. I made it jump out onto mum's foot! Too bad I was too slow to catch it though.....

Something is behind there!

Then we saw a lady bring in two of these,

Mum always tells people that I'm not good with K-I-T-T-I-E-S, despite the fact that I have been trying to tell her as long as the kitties don't hiss or arch their backs or scratch me, I would be nice to them too!!!

This lady wanted to sell her kitties to the pet store so she was showing them to the store manager. I asked the lady if I may have one (even though mum was making me look bad by telling the lady "MY DOG IS NOT GOOD WITH CATS"). Good thing this lady didn't listen to mum, and said "LET'S TRY"!!

I said OK, LET'S TRY!!!!!!!!!!! (while mum thought she was going to have a heart attack because the lady just put the kitten down right in front of my SuperFACE)

Well...... SuperAPOLOGY please mum! Like I've told you, as long as they aren't mean to me, I won't be either! Please listen to your doghter next time!

(mum: I have always told people that Sunshade isn't good with cats. I have never had a cat, and whenever she sees a cat on our walk, she would stalk him and stare at him right in the eye . There were times where she came face to face with a cat (turned corner, cat was sitting there), and as soon as the cat hissed or arched its back, she went berserk. Had she been off leash, she would have chased him. However, there were two cats that Sunshade had been great with. One was Jazz (RIP), her vet clinic's cat. He was so used to dogs that he wouldn't even open his eyes from a snooze even if a dog's face was right beside him. Sunshade loved to go visit Jazz, she always wagged her tail and watched him. Never a bark, never a chase. Then there was the one cat she stalked on the street. It must have been a young cat. He/she saw Sunshade stalking, and instead of running away, he walked right up to us. He proceeded to walk in between Sunshade's front legs and started rubbing against her. Sunshade looked very confused I remember, because all cats on the street were suppose to challenge her! The terrier side of her thought cat challenges were extremely FUN (a scratched up nose was well worth it)!

I came up with a theory then that Sunshade didn't want to kill cats, and she could be good with them as long as the cat didn't react to her presence (which is a lot to ask because she does give them those "stares"). Still, I always try to keep Sunshade away from cats (and Jaffa too. He has learned from reading Sunshade's body language that he needs to react to cats)

While we were there today, an Asian woman come into the store with two beautiful Ragdoll kittens. She was trying to sell them to the pet store (unfortunately). Anyway, the woman saw me watching and she started talking to me in Mandarin (yes, people expect you to speak Chinese here in Vancouver if you were Asian!). She wanted me to buy one of the kittens. I told her right away that my dog was NOT good with cats. She took one look at the gentle looking Sunshade, and said "LET'S TRY!!". I right away said NO NO NO NO NO. She responded with "don't worry, cats and dogs get along, your dog is nice" and proceeded to grabbing one of the kittens to put it down. I again said NO my dog won't be nice to the kitten while trying to pull Sunshade away. Well... too late! Lady just let the kitten go, wasn't worried at all. She didn't even stand near the kitten to protect it in case anything happened! It was too late for me to do anything as she had put the kitten RIGHT IN FRONT of Sunshade. All I could do then was to watch Sunshade's body language. I knew needed to keep Sunshade's leash slacked as from our past experience, tension can set things off. My hand was hovering over the handle of her harness so I could grab her as soon as I felt her body language was changing.

BUT! My good girrrrrrrrl didn't let me down! So my theory was right, as long as the cat doesn't react, Sunshade is great with them. The kitten was so young, had no fear, so no reaction towards Sunshade. I took the video after I knew Sunshade was going to be ok. She is not an unpredictable dog, I can trust her based on the body language she shows me.)

3 comments:

You were perfect with the little kitten, Sunshade! Angel Maggie met a kitty one day on one of our walkies and Arthur came over to her and rubbed himself on her and purred to her and she had that same confused look on her face! It was priceless! Normally, we chase all kitties!

Hi Sunshade, I like most cats except for one that lunged at me suddenly. But I understand your logic, if cats are nice to you, you're nice to them. Makes perfect sense to me. I remember Jazz too. I liked Jazz.

About Me

Hi everybody, my name is Sunshade and I am a 13 year old SuperDALE. The reason I'm a SuperDALE is because I am extremely smart and am always there for my mum (ie, when she locked me and the car keys in the car, I unlocked the car door for her)!
Mum got me as her 16th B-Day present from grandpa and we've been inseparable ever since. I saw mum through high school graduation, moved from Victoria to the big city - Vancouver with mum, went to many of mum's lectures with her, and finally saw her through university graduation.
Words cannot describe the bond mum and I share. It is truly a once in a life time connection that we have with each other. Mum says I'm her "one in a million soulmate", I think so too!!!
Here are some basic information about ME:
***Breed: Airedale Terrier ***Registered name: Loc Aire's "Sunshade"
***Date of Birth: November 25th 1999 ***Birth place: Port Angeles, WA ***Current age: 10 years old ***Hometown: Victoria + Vancouver B.C. ***Weight: 63 lbs